Manufacturer: Syracuse China
User: White Elephant Hotel
Dates of examples:
Doubled handled soup bowl: 1936
Soup plate and service plate: 1963
Notes: The White Elephant Hotel is located at 50 Easton Street in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Originally built in the early 1920s, it has been sold and remodeled numerous times. A newspaper article in The Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts, dated Dec. 24, 1986, about its sale to the First Winthrop Corp. of Boston, says that it had 82 rooms and was the lone hotel on Nantucket Harbor. Ostensible built only for guests during the summer, even now, 2026, it still opens in April and closes at the end of October (with a limited run Thanksgiving weekend through the first weekend in December).
In September 2000, a paragraph in the travel section of the Boston Globe (shown above) states: "the new White Elephant hotel has reopened. For 80 years this famed waterfront resort has been welcoming guests, and now its 54 guestrooms have been updated with the latest in amenities. The resort is just steps from downtown Nantucket. And for dining, its Brant Point Grill, which overlooks the harbor has a new menu, is hard to beat."
Another mention in the travel section of the Boston Globe in April 2002, states: "Located harborside just steps away from Nantucket Town, the landmark White Elephant hotel is the ideal spot from which to explore the island. Enjoy spacious guestrooms and suites – many with fireplaces and stunning harbor views – plus gourmet dining at Brant Point Grill, Nantucket's premier steak and seafood restaurant with an award-winning wine cellar."
A Wikipedia search did not turn up a separate entry for the White Elephant but did reference it in the entry for the Nantucket Project. It states: "The Nantucket Project is an annual gathering that takes place on Nantucket, Massachusetts, housed mainly at the White Elephant Hotel. The event is held in a tent overlooking Nantucket Harbor (see photo above).
The Nantucket Project was co-founded in 2010 by Tom Scott and Kate Brosnan. The inaugural event was held in the fall of 2011 at the White Elephant hotel. The Nantucket Project has remained at that venue. Notable past speakers have included Jennifer Garner, Neil Young, Tig Notaro, Tony Blair, Marcia Clark, Steve Wozniak, Ndaba Mandela, George W. Bush, Hope Solo, David Rubenstein, Valerie Plame, Moby, Laura Dern, John Kerry, and … Paul Giamatti."
An exclusive venue that is seemingly proud of its inflexibility, in August 2001, author and Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam was refused breakfast at the hotel's restaurant because he was not a hotel guest.
White body service plate with a coin gold rim and a navy band covering the remainder of the rim. In the center of the well is the hotel's logo, a stylized drawing in turquoise of an elephant. The double-handled soup bowl is white its exterior is completely covered in a warm yellow with the logo on the side. The soup plate, which is again white, has the rim, verge, and well covered in a bright yellow with the logo at the top of the rim.
Sources:
The Boston Globe, Apr. 7, 1968 – ad for the White Elephant
The Boston Globe, Aug. 26, 1990 – ad for the White Elephant
The Boston Globe, Sep. 10, 2000 – travel section mention of the White Elephant
Wikipedia – history of the Nantucket Project
White Elephant website – photo of the building
Contributors:
Dee Greenbergs: service plate photos
Rodric Coslet: ID and matchbook photo
Ed Phillips: author